Converter · ET → Beijing Time (UTC+8)

EST to China Standard Time

China Standard Time, also called Beijing Time, is 13 hours ahead of EST and 12 hours ahead of EDT. 8:00 PM in New York is 9:00 AM the next morning in Beijing and Shanghai in winter, and 8:00 AM in summer.

Now in New York
--:-- ET
Now in Beijing
--:-- CST
Difference now
+13 h
Gap changes next (ET side)
Second Sunday in March

How many hours ahead is China of Eastern Time?

Mainland China uses a single offset, UTC+8, everywhere and all year. Eastern Time is UTC−5 in winter and UTC−4 in summer, so Beijing is 13 hours ahead from early November to mid-March and 12 hours ahead from mid-March to early November. The gap moves only on the American dates: on March 14, 2027, it shrinks to 12 hours, and on November 7, 2027, it grows back to 13. The live Eastern Time clock shows which offset New York is on today.

A shortcut for the summer months: with a 12-hour gap, Beijing's clock shows the same digits as New York's with AM and PM swapped. 9:00 PM EDT is 9:00 AM in Beijing (the next day); 7:30 AM EDT is 7:30 PM. In winter, add one more hour.

EST to China time conversion table

The same table works for Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chengdu and every other mainland city, as well as Hong Kong and Taipei.

Eastern Time to China Standard Time (Beijing Time), hour by hour. Highlighted: New York evening hours that fall in the Beijing morning (8 AM–noon) in both seasons.
Eastern (ET)Beijing while ET is on EST (early Nov – mid Mar)Beijing while ET is on EDT (mid Mar – early Nov)
12:00 AM1:00 PM12:00 PM
1:00 AM2:00 PM1:00 PM
2:00 AM3:00 PM2:00 PM
3:00 AM4:00 PM3:00 PM
4:00 AM5:00 PM4:00 PM
5:00 AM6:00 PM5:00 PM
6:00 AM7:00 PM6:00 PM
7:00 AM8:00 PM7:00 PM
8:00 AM9:00 PM8:00 PM
9:00 AM10:00 PM9:00 PM
10:00 AM11:00 PM10:00 PM
11:00 AM12:00 AM (next day)11:00 PM
12:00 PM1:00 AM (next day)12:00 AM (next day)
1:00 PM2:00 AM (next day)1:00 AM (next day)
2:00 PM3:00 AM (next day)2:00 AM (next day)
3:00 PM4:00 AM (next day)3:00 AM (next day)
4:00 PM5:00 AM (next day)4:00 AM (next day)
5:00 PM6:00 AM (next day)5:00 AM (next day)
6:00 PM7:00 AM (next day)6:00 AM (next day)
7:00 PM8:00 AM (next day)7:00 AM (next day)
8:00 PM9:00 AM (next day)8:00 AM (next day)
9:00 PM10:00 AM (next day)9:00 AM (next day)
10:00 PM11:00 AM (next day)10:00 AM (next day)
11:00 PM12:00 PM (next day)11:00 AM (next day)

Convert any Eastern time to Beijing Time

Pick a date and time in ET; US daylight saving is applied automatically. Hong Kong and Taipei are in the list too.

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When is the best time to call China from the East Coast?

China's working morning is New York's evening. 8:00–10:00 PM EST is 9:00–11:00 AM in Beijing; in summer 8:00 PM EDT is only 8:00 AM, so a 9:00 PM EDT start (9:00 AM in China) is the usual choice. The other direction is late but workable for a short call: 8:00 AM EST is 9:00 PM in China, 8:00 PM in summer. Monday 9:00 AM in Beijing is Sunday 8:00 PM EST (9:00 PM EDT) in New York.

Holidays matter more than hours here. China moves weekend days around its long public holidays, Spring Festival in January or February and the National Day "Golden Week" from October 1, so a Saturday can be an official working day and a weekday a day off. Check the official holiday calendar before booking around those weeks. For a three-way call with Tokyo, one hour ahead of Beijing, see EST to JST; the converter hub covers the rest.

Why does all of China use one time zone?

China stretches from about 73°E in the Pamirs to 135°E on the Amur, roughly 61° of longitude: more than four hours of solar time, or five 15° time zones. The Republic of China planned for exactly that. A five-zone system, from UTC+5:30 in the far west to UTC+8:30 in the north-east, was proposed by the Central Observatory and formally adopted in 1939. After 1949 the People's Republic replaced it with one clock for the whole country, Beijing Time, and that is still the rule.

On the ground the single clock means very different days. Calculated for June 21, solar noon comes at about 11:05 AM Beijing Time in Fuyuan on the Russian border, 12:16 PM in Beijing, 2:11 PM in Ürümqi and 2:58 PM in Kashgar. In mid-January Kashgar's sun does not rise until about 10:15 AM. India, by contrast, chose a half-hour offset to fit its own 29° span (see EST to IST).

China spans about 73°E to 135°E, five 15-degree solar time zones from UTC+5 to UTC+9, yet uses one clock, UTC+8. Solar noon on June 21 in Beijing Time: Kashgar 2:58 PM, Ürümqi 2:11 PM, Lhasa 1:57 PM, Beijing 12:16 PM, Shanghai 11:56 AM, Fuyuan 11:05 AM solar UTC+5 solar UTC+6 solar UTC+7 solar UTC+8 solar UTC+9 China, 73°E–135°E: one clock, UTC+8 Kashgarnoon 2:58 PM Ürümqinoon 2:11 PM Lhasanoon 1:57 PM Beijingnoon 12:16 PM Shanghainoon 11:56 AM Fuyuannoon 11:05 AM 75°E90°E105°E135°E120°E Solar noon on June 21 in Beijing Time · dashed line: 120°E, the meridian of UTC+8
Five solar zones, one legal clock.

What is Xinjiang Time?

In the far west many residents, particularly Uyghurs, live by unofficial Xinjiang Time (also called Ürümqi Time), UTC+6, two hours behind Beijing. Government offices and many businesses keep Beijing Time on the clock but open later, roughly 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM Beijing Time, which is 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM in Xinjiang Time. In Ürümqi it is worth asking which clock an appointment refers to.

The IANA time zone database, used by phones and computers, even keeps a separate zone, Asia/Urumqi, set to UTC+6. A device set to it shows Xinjiang Time, which is 11 hours ahead of EST and 10 ahead of EDT, not 13 and 12.

Did China ever use daylight saving time?

Yes, briefly. From 1986 to 1991 China moved its clocks to UTC+9 each summer, from mid-April (early May in 1986) to mid-September, then dropped the practice. Hong Kong and Taiwan last used summer time in 1979. Since 1991 Beijing Time has been fixed at UTC+8, so the only moving part in a New York–China conversion is US daylight saving, exactly as for Tokyo.

CST: China Standard Time or Central Standard Time?

"CST" is one of the most overloaded abbreviations in timekeeping:

Taiwan's time is often labelled CST as well. If an invite from Shanghai says "10:00 CST", it almost certainly means Beijing Time, which is 9:00 PM EST (10:00 PM EDT) the evening before, not 11:00 AM in New York. Write "Beijing Time" or "UTC+8" and the ambiguity disappears.

Frequently asked questions

Is Hong Kong on the same time as Beijing?

Yes. Hong Kong and Macau are on UTC+8 all year. Taipei, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Perth share the same offset, so each is 13 hours ahead of EST and 12 hours ahead of EDT.

What is 9:00 AM Beijing time in New York?

8:00 PM EST or 9:00 PM EDT on the previous day.

How far ahead of California is China?

16 hours ahead of PST and 15 hours ahead of PDT. 9:00 AM in Beijing is 5:00 PM the previous afternoon in Los Angeles in winter and 6:00 PM in summer.

Is Shanghai time different from Beijing time?

No. All of mainland China follows Beijing Time. Software uses the IANA zone Asia/Shanghai because zone names are based on a representative city, usually the most populous one, not the capital.

When did Singapore move to UTC+8?

On 1 January 1982, together with Peninsular Malaysia, which advanced its clocks by 30 minutes from UTC+7:30 to match East Malaysia. Since then Singapore has kept the same time as Beijing and Hong Kong.

Explore

EST to JST

Tokyo, one hour ahead of Beijing: 14 or 13 hours ahead of New York.

EST to IST

India's single half-hour zone, 10½ or 9½ hours ahead.

EST to CST

The other CST: US Central Time, one hour behind Eastern.

EST to AEST

Sydney, where the gap moves between 14 and 16 hours.